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Species Image Gallery (opens in a new window) |
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| THE GRASS FAMILY | |||||||||
| The grass family is economically
and ecologically important. Many of the world’s crops are products
of the grasses. In addition, grasses are represented in almost all terrestrial
ecosystems and are an important part of the natural food chain. The grasses have a set of structures unique to the family. These plants can be annual or perennial and are usually herbaceous. The roots are fibrous, but rhizomes or runners may be found in some species. The stems are solitary or tufted, and may be branched. The stems are round with hollow internodes and solid nodes. The leaves are basal or on the stem. The stem leaves are 2-ranked, meaning they are in two vertical rows and are sheathing at the base. A ligule is present where the leaf sheath and the blade meet. The florets are in spikelets which are then arranged into clusters called spikes, racemes, or panicles. The spikelets usually have two glumes at the base and may be one to several-flowered. Sometimes there are sterile florets, which may consist only of the palea and lemma, present above or below the fertile florets. The florets are usually perfect, meaning that they have both male and female parts. The lemma and palea are the two bracts that subtend each floret. The lemma may be awnless or awned from the tip or the back. Each fertile floret has between one and three stamens and one superior ovary with a feathery stigma. The fruit type is a caryopsis or grain and is unique to the grass family. |
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| HAUPTIAN ALKALIGRASS | |||||||||
| LATIN NAME: Puccinellia distans ssp. hauptiana | |||||||||
| WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE? | |||||||||
| Hauptian alkaligrass grows as tall as 60 cm from fibrous roots. The stems are tufted but not mat-forming. The leaves are shorter than the inflorescence and are only 1 to 2 mm wide. The ligules are membranous and there are no ear-like lobes at the base of the leaf. The inflorescence is branched, with the lower branches horizontal or reflexed. The spikelets are up to 7 mm long and contain between two and seven florets. The glumes are rounded and obscurely nerved. The lemmas are greenish and are only slightly hairy if at all. | |||||||||
| WHERE DOES IT GROW? | |||||||||
| Hauptian alkaligrass grows in saline mudflats and open, sandy disturbed sites. | |||||||||
| WHERE IS IT FOUND IN SASKATCHEWAN? | |||||||||
| This plant is found in northern Saskatchewan in the Athabasca Plain and Tazin Lake Upland ecoregions. | |||||||||
| WHY IS IT RARE? | |||||||||
| Hauptian alkaligrass is threatened because of extreme rarity in Saskatchewan. This species is somewhat regionally restricted in the province. No immediate threats are known but may occur in the future. | |||||||||
| HOW TO IDENTIFY HAUPTIAN ALKALIGRASS | |||||||||
| * Are the leaves 1 – 2 mm wide? * Are the ligules membranous? * Are the glumes rounded on the back? * Did you find it in northern Saskatchewan? | |||||||||
If you answered yes to all of these questions, you may have found hauptian alkaligrass! |
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